bullet

American  

[bool-it] / ˈbʊl ɪt /

noun

1. a small metal projectile, part of a cartridge, for firing from small arms.

2. a cartridge.

3. a small ball.

4. Printing. a heavy dot for marking paragraphs or otherwise calling attention to or itemizing particular sections of text, especially in display advertising.

5. Cards. an ace.

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verb (used without object)

bulleted, bulleting

1. to move swiftly.

idioms

1. bite the bullet, to force oneself to perform a painful, difficult task or to endure an unpleasant situation.

   We'll just have to bite the bullet and pay higher taxes.

bullet British  

/ ˈbʊlɪt /

noun

1. 1. a small metallic missile enclosed in a cartridge, used as the projectile of a gun, rifle, etc

   2. the entire cartridge

2. something resembling a bullet, esp in shape or effect

3. stock exchange a fixed interest security with a single maturity date

4. commerce a security that offers a fixed interest and matures on a fixed date

5. commerce

   1. the final repayment of a loan that repays the whole of the sum borrowed, as interim payments have been for interest only

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bullet loan

6. slang dismissal, sometimes without notice (esp in the phrases get or give the bullet )

7. printing See centred dot

8. See bite

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bullet More Idioms  

1. see bite the bullet; sweat bullets.

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Other Word Forms

• bullet-like
  adjective
• bulletless
  adjective
• bulletlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bullet

1550–60; < Middle French boullette, equivalent to boulle ball ( see bowl ²) + -ette -ette

Explanation

A bullet is the metal object that is fired out of a gun when its trigger is pulled. Without bullets, a gun is harmless. If someone talks about ammunition for a gun, they're talking about bullets. A bullet doesn't usually contain explosives but does its damage by penetrating whatever — or whomever — it hits. The Middle French source of bullet is boulette, "cannonball" or "small ball," from boule, "a ball," with its Latin root bulla, "round thing." To "bite the bullet" means to withstand an unpleasant but necessary situation, from the (possibly fictitious) practice of patients biting bullets during painful operations.

Example Sentences

At 66, he wondered whether it was time to bite the bullet.

From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026

However, she warned the guidance was not "a silver bullet" and that if someone made a claim of discrimination against an organisation it was not a defence to say "we're waiting for the guidance".

From BBC • May 21, 2026

In 2019, he registered a trademark for an esoteric video game called “Bohrdom,” a “hybrid of a bullet hell and a racing game” based on atomic theory, in which electrons and protons compete.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

The 16 bullet points, which link to regulatory filings, letters and important messages from Buffett, also connect the present-day shareholders to the company’s past.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

It slams into the dirt on my right with the force of a slimy bullet.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• ammunition
• ball
• cartridge
• pellet
• projectile
• rocket
• round
• shot
• slug